Chapter 264

So that's how it was......

He had long since become an indispensable member of the Straw Hat crew, hadn't he?

At this moment,

Sima Di seemed to have formed some kind of link with this world, a feeling of his feet being firmly planted on the ground.

Xiang Na stepped forward and took Sima Di's hand.

"It was never your fault to begin with!"

"Between a stranger child and a comrade who'd fought side by side with me, I actually chose to entrust my back to him instead of you — that was my mistake all along!"

"Please......"

"Please don't leave us!"

"The Straw Hat crew needs you! The Going Merry needs you! I need you too!"

The others glanced at Xiang Na in surprise — what was with that last line?

Xiang Na, worthy of being the woman who'd shouldered an entire village at such a young age, simply came clean about it.

"Actually, I wasn't entirely sure before, but just now, I'm completely sure!"

"I like Di!"

"Not the way you like a comrade!"

"But the way Robin and the others do — the kind of liking where I want to go to bed with you!"

"The reason I was unhappy is that Di could get angry for Robin, yet you couldn't play favorites for me!"

"I'm jealous! I'm sour! I want to have you all to myself too!"

Good grief!

Is Xiang Na really this bold?

For a moment......

The others couldn't even tell

whether Xiang Na meant every word, or......

was simply trying to make Sima Di stay?

Sima Di finally got a chance to speak—

"You guys...... at least let me finish!"

"Did I say I was getting off the ship?"

"When I said leaving, I just meant going for a flight to cool my head!"

"But......"

Sima Di looked at Xiang Na and raised an eyebrow: "What was that last thing you said just now?"

Xiang Na:

Everyone else: _●)_●)

So......

you were just going to go for a spin?

Then why put on that life-and-death parting look, hey!!!

Even a woman as tough as Xiang Na was thrown off for a moment; she punched Sima Di hard in the waist, then covered her face and ran toward the women's quarters.

It left Sima Di completely at a loss.

Weren't you about to confess?

How did you end up punching me?

Sima Di looked puzzled toward the second-floor dining room, but everyone had already turned and scattered.

Only Robin stood there, smiling as she gazed at Sima Di.

"Sometimes I really don't know how you managed to win over Vivi and Hancock," Robin sighed. "Leave it to me."

She swayed her voluptuous, serpentine waist as she walked toward Xiang Na's quarters.

This suited Sima Di just fine.

Pick up girls himself?

Nowhere near as easy as having his own girl go pick up girls for him!

At the same time,

he finally felt like he'd truly merged into this world, and he gazed out toward the sea.

Just now......

he had indeed meant to leave the ship and start his own crew.

But now that was gone,

where was the fun in going off alone to be some king, compared to conquering the world alongside interesting friends?

"Today, it was me being melodramatic."

"If this is a game, then I admit I'm already hooked."

"Let the storm come even harder!

Today's lunch was especially lavish,

no one knew whether it was to welcome Chopper and the other back, or to celebrate Sima Di's choice......

They weren't fools — how could they really believe Sima Di's explanation?

Robin was the last to walk into the dining room, shaking her head at everyone.

"Girls are shy, after all. Unless something unexpected happens, you won't be seeing Xiang Na for a few days."

"Well, leave the navigation to me!" Merry said confidently. "I've been learning a lot of seamanship from Xiang Na these past few days!"

"Then I'll be counting on you, Merry!" Robin said in a tone one would use to coax a child.

Merry grinned broadly, quite pleased — she was, after all, a child less than a year old since her birth.

"Buzz—"

The transmission stone on the dining table, linked to the Room of Time and Spirit, trembled, then flashed with light, coalescing into the figures of Chopper and Franky.

Chopper was his usual self — tiny and utterly adorable.

"Awoo — finally back!" Chopper said with teary eyes. "Sanji's cooking!"

Chopper dove headfirst into the feast.

The others, however, didn't follow suit with their forks — instead, they stared at Franky in surprise.

Franky's once-bulky arms had returned to normal; the obvious mechanical angles had rounded out like an ordinary person's. The only thing unchanged was that he was still wearing only a pair of swim trunks.

"Huh? Franky, you've turned into a normal person?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Yo? Finally back!" Franky shouted. "Normal person? This old man is a pervert!"

As he spoke,

the muscles on Franky's exterior rippled like flowing water, and under everyone's gaze, shifted back to his usual form.

"The me now is a brand-new me! Completely constructed of Facing Xiang Na metal, and able to simulate the properties of any metal — vibranium, sea-stone stone, space alloy, you name it. This is the most advanced memory Facing Xiang Na!"

"Wow!"

Luffy and Usopp both had stars lighting up in their eyes, and even Chopper, who had long known the research results, cast an admiring gaze.

It really was too cool!

"You've already completely mastered the Mk Clothing Technique?" Sima Di said with a smile.

Facing Xiang Na technology,

was precisely the tech that appeared at the very end of Iron Man.

Combined with the liquid metal Franky had previously acquired, the results were surely far beyond Iron Man's.

"Yo — and for that, I have to thank you, Di, for your wholehearted sponsorship!"

Franky blew a heart at Sima Di,

and the Facing Xiang Na metal on his body's surface flowed, transforming into a buxom, curvy figure of a devilish girl — only the face was still...

Everyone: "Hiss—"

Sima Di: "Franky, if you don't change back right now, I'll crumple you into a ball!"

Franky reluctantly shifted back to the form he'd had when he first returned.

"You really don't understand a pervert's love at all," Franky muttered.